Genus and species: Dahlia variabilis. 
Variety denomination: xe2x80x98Dada Scarletxe2x80x99.
The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of dahlia, botanically known as Dahlia variabilis, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Dada Scarletxe2x80x99. The new cultivar is asexually reproduced from vegetative cuttings and tissue culture resulting from the cross of the seed/pod parent Dahlstar Red, a unpatented commercial linexc3x97DL-111-7, a deep purple proprietary line that is unnamed and unpatented.
xe2x80x98Dada Scarletxe2x80x99 is a product of a planned breeding program intended to create new dahlia plants with red colored flowers, compact habit, good basal branching and moderately vigorous growth.
The new cultivar was created in 1997 in Andijk, The Netherlands and has been asexually reproduced repeatedly by vegetative cuttings and tissue culture in Gilroy, Calif., Andijk, The Netherlands, and Guatemala over a four-year period. The plant has also been trialed at Gilroy, Calif., Litchfield, Mich. and Andijk, The Netherlands. The present invention has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive propagations; and this novelty is firmly fixed.